Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Chemical Vapor Functionalization (CVF) is a method in which nanocrystals undergo in situ functionalization in the gas phase. In CVF, two reactors are used in series. The first reactor consists of a hot quartz tube (1073 K) where ZnO nanocrystals are synthesized in the gas phase from diethylzinc and oxygen. The second reactor, connected at the exit of the first one and kept at lower temperature (673 K), is used as functionalization chamber. At the connecting point of the two reactors, vapors of organic functionalizing agents are injected which react with the surface of ZnO nanocrystals. ZnO nanocrystals have been functionalized by 1-hexanol, n-hexanoic acid, n-hexanal and 1-hexylamine. Functionalized ZnO nanocrystals have been characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering, X-ray Diffraction and Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy.